Cancer and Food: Is Our Food Safe To Eat?

Cancer and food is continuously being evaluated. Every few months the news brings out yet more condemning facts about the levels of toxins contained within the food we eat. We must ask ourselves is our food safe to eat? Here is an article recently printed in the Daily Express:

“Toxic chemicals have been found lurking in more than a third of every day foods.

Potentially harmful pesticides are present in all food, everything from fresh fruit to bread, official tests revealed. How safe is our food to eat? Cancer & food is an issue we cannot afford to ignore.

Every orange analyzed contained traces of the chemicals used to kill insects & weeds, and nine out of ten loaves, three quarters of pears, 71% of apples and 70% of grapes showed evidence of harmful substances.

SAFE TO EAT !

Most of the chemicals detected were at the levels not thought to pose an immediate health risk. But in several cases the concentration was above legal limits – including in fruit given free to school children in an initiative by the Department of Health. We must ensure our food is safe to eat.

Potatoes were also found to contain traces of a pesticide so harmful it is banned in Europe.

Campaigners expressed alarm at the results, calling them “scary”. They come in the wake of heightened concerns about the use of chemicals in farming - despite efforts to cut agricultural reliance on pesticides. Cancer and food is linked by association to the toxins being found in these tests.

Clare butler Ellis of the Pesticide Action Network, said: “Part of the problem is that we are not in a position to be confident that long term, low level intake of pesticides isn’t going to damage peoples health,” Cancer is just one disease that may be caused by consuming unwanted toxins in our food.

The Pesticide Residues Committee (PRC) analyzed a range of foods as part of an ongoing monitoring programme. Its latest study, covering October to December last year, reported toxic residues in 37 percent of 1247 samples analyzed.

All 36 oranges tested by the scientists contained traces of chemicals, although most of the pesticides were on the peel.

Many soft fruit skins are consumed as recommended for the fiber content. We should be aware of the risks to our health, & the links between cancer and food consumption. Many toxins have an effect due to build up in the body & this is not fully researched.

Bread had the second highest proportion of positive readings – with an overwhelming 93% of loaves containing chemicals of one type or another. Pears were third with 75%.

The toxic levels of some foods were high enough to breach legal limits set to encourage good farming practices. Seven of the 24 samples of green beans tested contained traces of pesticides with six above the limit. Courgettes, garlic, salad onions & exotic fruit were also over acceptable limits.

However the PRC stressed the amounts found were still not high enough to harm humans in the short term.

Dr Ian Brown, chairman of the PRC said that in total 25 samples were found to contain toxic traces above legal levels.

He admitted this was higher than average, but said this was because “more fresh produce” had been tested, adding: “we also targeted produce likely to contain pesticide residues.”

But Miss Butler Ellis said: “I am quite shocked by the complacency of the PRC”.

Cancer and Food Concerns !

One of the scariest findings is aldicarb in potatoes above the accurate reference dose – a level that should ring alarm bells. It is one of the most toxic of pesticides there is and has been banned in the European Union. Cancer and food is just one aspect of out health we should be concerned with.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said “We would always advise you to wash fruit or cook vegetables to reduce any risk from pesticides.” Sadly we know that the skins contain valuable nutrients & fiber which help protect against cancer. Also cooking erodes nutrients further. To make unsafe foods safe we must therefore lower the quality content.

It is amazing that we are continually demonstrating that the food we eat is contaminated with all kinds of toxic chemical & no long term testing has been done to prove its safety. In fact there is mounting evidence to suggest that it is not and as a result cancer and food should be of great concern to us all.

Why therefore are our governments seemingly not doing anything? Do they not care?

Let’s not wait another 10, 20 or 50 years before the proof that is already available are accepted and acted upon. Cancer & food is linked. We must ask ourselves is our food safe to eat. To save your health & the health of your family let’s act today.

This is what you can do:

1. Lobby your local MP and EU representative. (Senator or other official) Insist that they do something to make our foods safer.